Related Overviews

'Finn Emna' can also refer to...

More Like This

Quick Reference

[cf. OIr. emnach, pertaining to a pair; double].

Triplet sons attributed to Eochaid Feidlech, also known as Trí Finn Emna [the Three Finns of Emain Macha]; their given names, Bres, Nár, and Lothar, are usually ignored. Whatever Eochaid's historicity, the three Finns are more likely an echo of ancient triplism originating in the Find, a personification of knowledge. When their mother became estranged from Eochaid, she took them to Emain Macha, where she and Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa exhorted them to rebellion against their father. When they began to mount their offensive they sought to enlist the support of their sister Clothra, then reigning as queen of Connacht. She not only resisted them but tried to dissuade them with sexual favours. Their war against Eochaid was fierce but unsuccessful, although Lothar knocked his father unconscious by flinging a stone. Ulster heroes pursued and captured them, removing their heads. Eochaid asked that their heads be buried with them but died himself, overcome by sorrow. The incestuous union of Clothra and her three brothers is thought to have produced the legendary king Lugaid Riab nDerg.